You will meet a tall, dark stranger at midnight
by ollieu
Summary: After Frozen. Anna and Kristoff's relationship is awkward and full of tension after their kiss. Elsa is busy ruling Arendelle peacefully but in comes Prince Theobald from the Southern Isles, here to amend his kingdom's relationship with Arendelle. As kind-hearted as he is, his umkempt state, patheticness and lack of nobility does not impress Elsa. But is everything as it seems?


Chapter 1

Ever since the day Anna had kissed Kristoff, things had become more and more awkward between them. Due to various celebrations, trade openings and monarch duties happening all across Arendelle, Anna had not been able to see Kristoff frequently enough to discuss their…. Well, their _relationship. _God, just thinking about it made her nervous. _Kristoff_ made her nervous, which meant creating the right time and place to talk about everything all the more difficult.

It was fine summer's evening when Elsa and Anna finally returned to the Palace after a long day out attending the Arendelle Parade, and Anna, exhausted from smiling and waving for twelve hours, went straight to her room to change out of her ridiculously tight corset and into something more comfortable. As she sat on her bed changing, she wondered what Kristoff actually meant to her. What was he… Boyfriend? But they had never discussed that sort of thing before. Lovers? No, that sounded too melodramatic. Friends? Well, of course they were friends, but friends don't kiss, at least she didn't think so. Fiancee? No, he hadn't proposed. Best friend? He would have to settle that with Elsa, if he could.

Anna sighed before falling on to her bed. All this uncertainty was making her jittery and nervous, and the truth was ever since they had kissed, all Anna had felt was severe confusion. She had enjoyed the kiss, no, possibly more than that and of course, she _had_ let him kiss her, but soon afterwards Olaf had interrupted and she suddenly felt really nervous and announced that she had to go back to the castle, avoiding Kristoff's gaze completely and walking away as fast as she could. Actually, now that she thought about it, she more or less sprinted. Why had she done that?! Why did she have to go and mess up a perfectly beautiful moment?!

After that, the only times they ever talked were during social occasions with other people, and they never discussed their… well, whatever it was. Anna and Elsa on the other hand had stuck together like velcro since the day summer returned, and Anna was sure that Elsa still felt a little uncertain about Kristoff. And for Anna too, she had learned her lesson to be more cautious, thanks to Hans. But how much was too cautious?

Anna groaned into her pillow before pulling herself up. Enough. Who cared if she looked like a mess? Who cared if she felt sleepy and her legs felt like lead? She would go and speak to Kristoff and set things straight. The tension between them was becoming unbearable.

As Anna walked down the hallway, contemplating on what to say to Kristoff, she suddenly slammed her face painfully into a rather large object, causing her to stumble backwards. She nearly fell off her feet but was caught just in time by a pair of foreign hands which grabbed her by the waist. She glanced upwards, short of breath, to thank her saviour…

It was Hans!

"Get - your - hands - off of me!" she yelled, releasing herself from his grip as she fell to the ground.

"Ahh, ouch," she started moaning, rubbing her lower back as she clumsily stood up. Hans had started rambling, but unsurprisingly she hadn't been listening to his apologies due to her painful backside.

"I am _so_ sorry Madam, I am so sorry," came Han's voice, a little desperate and high-pitched, "I had no idea, I'm so silly, my sincerest apologises, I _never_ look where I'm going, I'm afraid it's a most terrible trait of mine. Is there anything that I could to help ease the pain, ice perhaps, oh, or perhaps your sister, she could help with that, or perhaps something else? I could go get her straight away if you so wish! I am so terribly sorry!"

All this was said in such haste that it caused Anna to stop rubbing her back and pause for a moment to think. Hans didn't talk like that, he would never apologise in such a pitiful way and the voice wasn't right, and besides, she swore this man hadn't taken a breath since he started apologising!

Anna slowly glanced up towards the man in front of her. A second later, she eyes widened and she gasped.

True, one could easily mistake this man for Hans. He had the same chin, same hair colour, same sort of build, but upon closer inspection one could see that he had softer features that were less defined, grey eyes which seemed kinder and little less round, hair that looked very unkempt compared to Hans', which was always perfectly in place, and he had the most worried expression that Anna had ever seen on anyone's face. He could rival Elsa's neuroticism. But only just.

He also looked terribly nervous and hunched up, which was probably why he seemed so small, his hands clammy as he wondered where to look.

Anna nearly burst out laughing. He didn't look like a member of the Monarchy, apart from his dress, but even that seemed a little sloppy. He seemed to have no sense of pride or nobility at all. Anna smiled, noticed that they had a similar trait.

"You couldn't possibly be a prince from the Southern Isles, could you?" asked Anna slowly, narrowing her eyes in a humorous way.

The young man looked up at Anna, before smiling and sighing in relief.

"Indeed, I am, Your Majesty, despite my appearance um," he proceeded to clear his throat and stand up a little straighter, revealing his true height, "I am Prince Theobald, the second youngest from the Southern Isles. People don't usually recognise or notice me, no surprise really, I have so many brothers and am basically regarded as a bit of an embarrassment by my family."

He laughed nervously but freezing on the spot.

"My god, here I am discussing my silly life when I should be helping you! Would you like me to fetch your sister?"

"Oh no, oh no, there's no need for that, I'm perfectly fine, it's just that I thought you were your brother, Hans, you looked a bit similar at first-"

"Oh yes, my brother," replied the prince with a little chuckle before his smile quickly disappeared and his eyes lost their lightness. Anna could swear she could see hints of fury and contempt in them.

"Yes, my…. my disgraced brother. I apologise from the bottom of heart for all the pain and suffering that he caused your kingdom, but more importantly for the damage he caused your sister and, and especially you."

This surprised Anna a little, his mood had changed so quickly, and she had not anticipated it. He spoke in such a dark and serious tone, his face ridden of all light-heartedness, a complete contrast to how he was before.

"So," said Anna nervously, unsure what to say. He seemed in earnest but she felt something slightly dangerous resonate from him. Then she remembered the obvious. "If you don't mind me asking, may I ask why you are here?"

For a moment, the prince looked up, confusion in his eyes before smiling and returning to his previous state.

"I'm so sorry, I'm afraid I was somewhere else there for a moment. Why am I here, did you ask? Well, as you can probably imagine, my kingdom has fallen from grace since my brother's disastrous behaviour, many countries have closed trade with us and in order to reestablish ourselves, the King and my brothers decided to renew our relationship with your kingdom. Why they decided that sending _me_ as representative would be a good idea is beyond my understanding but.. Well, anyway, I arrived today and was on my way to see Queen Elsa when… well, I bumped into you!"

Anna frowned. Elsa had never mentioned a visit from a prince, and surely she would have mentioned it to her if it was one from the Southern Isles.

"I see… Well, I'm afraid Elsa never mentioned your coming here, but I'm sure there's a reason why! Elsa will probably be here at dinner. If you like, you can join us as a guest and introduce yourself then?"

"Oh, well, I mean, are you- are you sure? Would she not feel a little uncomfortable with a stranger at her table?" asked the prince hesitantly, his pitifully neurotic expression returning.

"Well, I'm the Princess, and I can invite people just as my sister can, so I really don't see any reason why you can't come, unless of course, you'd rather meet her tomorrow-"

"Oh, not at all, I would be delighted, it's just that, given the recent past, I thought maybe she might not appreciate my attendance-"

"Then what better way to improve things! You should start as soon as possible!" said Anna brightly and enthusiastically, stretching her arms wide.

The prince stared at Anna in admiration before replying, "Princess Anna, you might just be the most forgiving and empathic person I have ever had the good fortune to meet."

"I know," said Anna, shaking her head as she smiled goofily. "Always been my problem. So you'll attend?"

"Do I really have a choice?" asked Prince Theobald humourously with a friendly smirk, shrugging his shoulders.


End file.
